


A Promise Kept

by ElisaJ



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death In Dream, Comfort/Angst, Completed, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Married Couple, Nightmares, Some Humor, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29948301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaJ/pseuds/ElisaJ
Summary: A commission story. In the aftermath of Goku Black, Goku suffers from nightmares of ChiChi and Goten dying and resolves to not let history repeat itself in his timeline.
Relationships: Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	A Promise Kept

**Author's Note:**

> This story comes from Next Cow. She commissioned me and gave me this wonderful idea to write.

A Promise Kept

_Why are ChiChi and Goten crying over Zamasu? Why is he on Earth?_

_Everything was fuzzy for Goku as he tried to understand what’s going on around him. One moment, the world was black and suddenly clear and bright like a sunny afternoon. He saw ChiChi and Goten crying over Zamasu’s body as he laid lifeless on the ground. The muffled voices from his wife and son slowly became clear._

_“Goku! Goku, wake up!”_

_“Dad!”_

_It’s me. They think Zamasu is me._

_“He’s dead.” Goku heard his voice but knew he didn’t speak. Looking away from ChiChi and Goten, Goku saw himself. He looked sinister as he stood over Zamasu’s body. “As you soon will be.” The imposter spoke in his voice but didn’t speak like him._

_“No,” ChiChi gasped as she pulled Goten to her. Goku could see his wicked counterpart staring at ChiChi maliciously. He never looked that way before but Goku knew that was the face of someone who will murder._

_With Goten in her arms, ChiChi ran. Goku jumped in front of ChiChi and Goten to protect them but the wicked body snatcher flew through Goku as if he were a hologram._

_“No!” Goku yelled seeing his wicked double near ChiChi and Goten. The imposter’s hand turned into a pink sword, and with one strike, he sliced ChiChi and Goten’s bodies. Goten’s head dropped on the ground next to ChiChi’s severed left hand. The rest of Goten’s body laid against ChiChi’s body from the waist up while her legs fell in opposite direction inches away._

_“ChiChi! Goten!” Goku jumped at his imposter, furious. How dare this monster uses his body to kill his family! Goku’s hands reached for the imposter’s neck but Goku went through him. Goku kicked at him but his legs went through, too._

_Goku looked at his hands. Why couldn’t he touch this killer? This was like his nightmare against the Androids after they killed ChiChi, Gohan and Krillin._

_The wicked Goku laughed maliciously as he picked up Goten’s head with the tip of his hand sword like a bayonet. He flung Goten’s head like a baseball and laughed even louder how quickly it disappeared from his view._

_“NO!” Goku lunged for the imposter but his body went through him again._

_“As for you,” the wicked Goku chuckled as he approached ChiChi’s severed body._

_Goku shook his head. “No. Don’t touch her.” But his wicked twin kept walking. “Don’t touch her,” Goku repeated._

_The evil murderer stood over ChiChi’s severed body. He raised his sword over her. Goku ran towards him. As the pink sword came down on ChiChi’s body, Goku screamed as he felt himself explode into Super Saiyan Blue._

_“DON’T TOUCH HER!!!”_

* * *

ChiChi’s frightened face is something that’s haunted Goku for years. He dreamt of her being killed by Vegeta and Nappa, by Freeza and the Androids. ChiChi’s death in his nightmares always came from wicked beings. He never dreamt of ChiChi being killed by someone possessing _his_ body. 

But that’s what happened. In another universe, his body was stolen by a wicked God, and in a cruel act of possessing his body, he killed ChiChi and Goten.

It wasn’t his ChiChi but Goku could see the fear in her eyes, hear her screams as she watches the man she loves and thought will always protect her, kill her and their son.

A cold sweat covered Goku’s body as he lied awake. He returned from the future two days ago and for two nights, he dreamt of ChiChi and Goten being killed by him. He saw the fear on their faces; heard their dying scream, heard Goku Black’s wicked laugh as he sliced their bodies. The last thing ChiChi saw is him killing her.

No. Not him. He didn’t kill his family. Goten slept in his room and ChiChi slept beside him. Seeing her restful, pretty face and parted lips as she breathed, Goku was assured his ChiChi wasn’t killed.

It could still happen a dark thought told him. Goku knew his strength and what he’s capable of. He always had guilt for that tap he gave her when he returned from Yardrat, but knowing ChiChi died by his hands even though someone else possessed his body and it was from another timeline, forced Goku to take action. He wouldn’t let what happened to ChiChi in that alternate timeline happen to his ChiChi.

“Goku…..” ChiChi groaned, “you keep moving.” Her eyes were closed but her lips moved as she snuggled against him.

“Sorry.”

“When you sleep, you don’t move until morning.” ChiChi opened her eyes. Her sleepy dark eyes gazed at him. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Yes, but he wasn’t telling ChiChi that. “I wanna train you.”

“Train me?” she yawned as she laid her head on his chest. “Why do ya wanna do that?”

“Ya told me ya wanna.”

“That was years ago, and after I got pregnant with Gohan, it was forgotten.” She yawned again. “We tried before your reunion but you died and we never found the time.”

Goku knew that was his fault because he never made the time. He regretted that decision in the seven years he was dead and he regretted it even more now. He had the time to make up for that when he returned to life but never did. It took ChiChi’s death in another timeline for him to see his error and make up for it before it’s too late. “We have time now. Do ya wanna?”  
  


“I guess,” ChiChi sleepily agreed. She was willing to do anything to get back to sleep. “We can do that. Can we sleep now?”

* * *

When ChiChi (sleepily) agreed to train with Goku, she expected something light. In the early days of their marriage, they trained together a lot. Goku frustrated her since he didn’t take her as a serious opponent. He was a good teacher but he always (she thought) laughed at her. He always smiled when they sparred and said her punches were like tickles. Then, there was a gap between them where ChiChi thought she could be on Goku’s level in a few years, but knowing Goku’s lineage, that gap was limitless. ChiChi considered herself still one of the strongest women on Earth. She trained her youngest son and even though he inherited a lot of his father’s strength, she credits her training in helping Goten be the youngest Super Saiyan. She slapped Majin Boo and didn’t break her hand. She died but ChiChi took pride her hand didn’t crack against that monster’s pink head.

On their first day of training, Goku told her he will train her to defeat him. ChiChi knew her strength but she was also realistic. There was no way she could defeat Goku. At least not in the way Goku wanted it. There were ways she could get the upper hand, but they weren’t doing that type of ‘fighting’.

Despite Goku’s high expectations, ChiChi played along thinking Goku would behave as he did years ago; be playful, laugh and tease her but Goku was the opposite. He was aggressive and demanding. ChiChi accepted this behavior for it meant Goku was taking this seriously and the tough training allowed her to learn things she longed to learn from Goku for years.

One was flying.

After all these years, Goku taught her how to fly. ChiChi imagined her and Goku playfully soaring the skies together, chasing each other or holding hands like she saw Gohan and Videl do several times.

None of this happened. There was no playfulness with Goku. Goku taught her how to fly as if he were a stern teacher and she was nothing but a student to him. It was not something fun and playful ChiChi expected between them as husband and wife. Goku acted as if he only wanted to teach her flight in order for her to fight him in the air.

Which wasn’t easy.

ChiChi learned flight a week ago but Goku treated her as if she mastered flying for years. While keeping control of her flying, Goku flew evasively at her wanting ChiChi to throw balls of Ki at him to keep him back.

ChiChi didn’t understand Goku’s motives. When they sparred as newlyweds, combat was always close. They touched each other a lot. Sometimes that touching led to more intimate touches but this time, Goku kept his distance.

It frustrated ChiChi and led her to not be as effective as Goku wanted her to be. He dodged her energy blasts and she wasn’t forming enough of them to keep him away. When Goku was within a foot of her, he pulled back, hovering. “I was open and you missed me! When I’m open, you strike! If I was a bad guy, I would’ve attacked back!”

Goku rarely yelled at her and when he did, ChiChi felt guilty. She blamed herself for causing her calm and sweet husband to yell at her. She was doing her best but also felt Goku wanted too much too soon. “I’m trying but it’s not easy, Goku. I’m still getting used to flying and you want me to throw energy blasts. When Gohan started walking, I didn’t immediately give him books to read. This takes time, Goku, and you’re not giving it to me.”

“We don’t have time.”

“Why not? What’s the rush?” ChiChi asked before guessing, “Are you getting ready to leave again? Are you rushing this because you want to go off and train with Whis again? Or go off and ask another strong person for a fight? Am I boring you?!” She jabbed a finger in his chest. “You wanted this, Buster! Don’t think you can back out of it now!”

Oh, boy. ChiChi’s fiery temper. It cooled a lot in the seven years of his death but occasionally, that fiery spark returned, and when it did….. if he didn’t need to train her now….. Goku exhaled. He needed to cool his heated body. He couldn’t think about that now. “I’m rushing because we’re behind.”

“Behind?” What was Goku talking about? “We’ve been training for a month and I know how to fly, I can control Ki, make energy blasts, Kamehameha Waves and I’ve done all this while cooking and cleaning every day. If there was another tournament and I only fight humans, I would win.”

“You can do that already.” Goku rolled his eyes. ChiChi was praising herself and they barely scratched the surface. “It’s been a month and you still can’t hit me.”

“Goku, you’re light years ahead of me. Twenty years ago, I _could_ hit if I got lucky you but not now when you can be a Super Saiyan, an Ascended Saiyan, a Super Saiyan Three, Red and now Blue, it’s gonna take time and honestly, it’ll be easier if we’re back on the ground. Let’s work more with combat fighting on the ground and gradually move to spar in the air.”

“No.” Goku refused. “I’m too good to be defeated on the ground. You need to learn how to defeat me in the air.”

Multiple times Goku said this in the past month. “Why are you so obsessed with me defeating you? You know I really can’t do that. You’re too strong.”

“You’re not gonna beat me thinking like that!”

“What’s the matter with you?!” ChiChi fired back. “For years, you couldn’t find time to train with me and now you can, you’re on this crazed mission to make me strong enough to defeat you. How am I gonna defeat you in the air and when you don’t wanna fight in close combat?! You always want me at a distance!”

“Because I like fighting on the ground and close combat best. To defeat me, you need to do the opposite!”

Suspicions rose in ChiChi. Goku was keeping something from her. “There’s that word again: ‘defeat’.” He was serious about that. He wasn’t joking as she assumed. “Why do you want me to defeat you, Goku? Why don’t you wanna train me just to be stronger?”

“Because it’s not enough! You don’t need to be stronger. You need to defeat me!”

“What for?” ChiChi asked again. “You’re not gonna attack me.” That was the time for Goku to say he wasn’t but he didn’t. His sudden silence concerned ChiChi. “You’re not, are you?”

There it was. Shock. Fear.

_ChiChi looked like that at Goku Black._

“No. No. I wouldn’t.”

“Then why didn’t you say that?” ChiChi floated closer to him. Her eyes studied Goku’s face. “What’s going on? What’s the real reason you’re training me?”

Oh, boy. ChiChi had that look in her eyes. Either she will react very pissed and demand he tell the truth or she will break down in tears where he will be guilted to tell the truth. When ChiChi did this, there was one thing Goku did that never failed. 

Run away.

In this case, Goku flew away. In the past, it worked. ChiChi would be stuck on the ground with him flying off. He’ll stay away for a few hours for ChiChi to calm down and they’ll talk or ChiChi would forget about it but this time ChiChi, flew after him and she was angry!

Goku looked back. ChiChi was flying and catching up to him. “Uh-oh,” Goku turned away. “Maybe I shouldn’t have taught her how to fly.”

“Goku!” ChiChi screamed. “You can’t escape me now!”

“I can try,” Goku murmured.

“Ka… me….”

Oh, boy. ChiChi can fire a Kamehameha Wave but she hadn’t mastered it while flying. When she did fire it, it veered off course and she plummeted from the skies as she put too much energy into it. It was why Goku told her to fire energy blasts at him until she developed the stamina to fire off waves.

“Ha…. me….”

Goku turned around. He saw the Kamehameha Wave growing in ChiChi’s hands. “ChiChi, you can’t put too much power in it. You’ll drain yourself.”

“Ha….. me……”

The wave was twice the size of the last one ChiChi fired on him. “Whoa! ChiChi! You can’t!”

“HA!”

Last time, ChiChi hit a flying dinosaur. ChiChi felt bad about that, but Goku thought it was a good dinner. There were no dinosaurs around this time so there was no fear of ChiChi hitting them but ChiChi’s Kamehameha Wave was different, too. ChiChi had strong control of it as she hurls it towards him in a direct hit.

The Kamehameha Wave consumed Goku. He didn’t resist its power as it spiraled him downward. Goku wore a big smile on his face as he plummeted to the ground.

_She actually hit me._

Good. This is what Goku wanted. If ChiChi kept at this, she will defeat him and he won’t worry anymore if his body is stolen and used against him. Goku jumped to his feet ready for another match when ChiChi descended.

“That was great, ChiChi! You can maintain flight in the sky and shoot Kamehameha Waves without burning too much Ki. Now, next time—”

“Stop!” There wasn’t going to be a next time until ChiChi got answers. “The truth, Goku. Why are you really training me?”

Goku laughed nervously. When ChiChi had suspicions, she was a bloodhound. She didn’t stop until she got the truth. “I told you. I wanna train you. We ain’t done that in years and I kinda owe ya. Besides,” he grinned, “it’s been fun.”

ChiChi knew that smile. That was his ‘I’m hiding something and I wanna fool you’ smile. It fooled everyone and for years it fooled her, too. Not anymore. As upset she was with Goku, ChiChi felt she was being a hypocrite. Goku was keeping something from her but she was keeping something from him, too.

“I guess we’re both using each other.”

Goku cocked his head to his left confused. “Huh?”

“You said you wanna train me to defeat you. I thought you were joking but I secretly wanted to get strong enough to defeat you as impossible that is. I _wanted_ this. I wanted to train with you to spend time together like we used to but I also wanted to get stronger.”

That was good to Goku. That meant ChiChi had the same goal he had for her, but at the same time, that made _him_ suspicious. Why now did ChiChi want to get stronger? ChiChi stepped closer to him. She looked calm but sad. “We haven’t been honest with each other, Goku. This is about Goku Black, isn’t it?”

He was surprised but he also wasn’t. Goku easily kept secrets from everyone but ChiChi, if given enough time, would discover them. Goku chalked that up to her really knowing him. It took years but ChiChi was on the shortlist of the few who could figure him out.

“It _is_ about Goku Black,” Goku confessed. “I haven’t stopped thinking about what he did to you and Goten.”

When ChiChi learned what Goku Black did, she was shocked but hid it focusing on Goten and screaming at Goku for not defeating Goku Black. It was her way of coping and not think of what happened. A version of Goku killed her.

“Ginyu stole my body but I got it back before he did any damage. I never thought it would happen again and it did.” Goku’s fists clenched. “My body was made into a weapon. That monster Zamasu used my body to kill you.”

“It wasn’t your body. It was another Goku.”

“It was another Goku who died of the heart virus. It was another Goku who lost his body to Zamasu and killed you. What if the next time I ain’t so lucky? What if _my_ body is stolen and I attack you? You’ll think it’s me killing you.”

Goku looked crossed between crying and screaming in rage. ChiChi cupped his face tenderly. His distress told her she never should’ve been quiet about her thoughts. She should’ve been open with them so Goku could be open with his. “Never. That ChiChi in that time knew it wasn’t her Goku who attacked her.” She grasps his hands and encloses them in hers. “I know these hands would never intentionally hurt me.” She pressed both his hands together and kissed them. “ _You_ would never hurt me. I should’ve told you that instead of letting you suffer in silence.”

It wasn’t only her. Goku realized they both should’ve been honest with each other.

“But if I ain’t in control, you can be hurt. That’s why I need to get you strong enough to defeat me.”

“Oh, Goku,” ChiChi tenderly laughed. “You can lock us in that time room for a day and I still won’t be strong enough. There’s too much of a gap for me to defeat you.”

“I know,” Goku knew that when they started training but he blindingly hoped for a miracle. “But I gotta do something, ChiChi. I need to do something to make sure if I’m out of control, you’re safe.”

ChiChi agreed. If Goku turned on her, ChiChi knew she needed to be able to defend herself and Goten. “We can figure something out if we really think hard enough. What do you do to beat a strong opponent?”  
  


Goku thought for a moment before shrugging. “I usually get stronger.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Well…..” Goku chewed his lower lip thinking. It wasn’t often his strength wasn’t the biggest reason he won a fight. “Then I use my head and outsmart my opponent. I use my opponent’s weakness against them.” Goku was doing that now. It wasn’t a real weakness but Goku had a preference to close combat and ground fighting. He thought if he trained ChiChi to fight him in the air with a distance that will be an advantage for her. “What would you do?”

ChiChi shrugged, lost for any serious methods. “With you, I would try to seduce you with my body or a meal.”

She _had_ done that with success but that wouldn’t be helpful now. “That would defeat _me_ but what about an evil version of me?”

“I slapped Majin Boo, but if it’s you and I couldn’t reason with you, I would try to escape.”

In his nightmares, that’s what Goku envisioned the other ChiChi doing. It didn’t work. The only way it could work is if ChiChi distracted him _before_ making an escape.

Goku snapped his fingers. “I could teach you the taiyoken.”

“Taiyoken?” ChiChi heard that word before. “Where have I heard that?”

“Tien used it on me at the tournament.”

“Oh!” Realization dawned on ChiChi. She put her fingers in front of her face. “He did that blinding flash thing.”

“Yeah. I can teach you that and you can use it on an evil me and you can get away.” Goku’s immediate excitement faded as he realized _that_ wouldn’t work. ChiChi could fly now but Goku knew he could catch up with her after the flash faded. Unless….. “I’ll teach you my teleportation trick.”

“The disappearing one where you can travel thousands of miles in seconds?” Goku was very secretive about the teleportation trick he learned from the Yardratians. He didn’t teach Gohan this when they trained together. “You told me the Yardratians didn’t want you sharing this technique.”

Goku shrugged as he gave ChiChi a lopsided grin. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

A warm smile spread across ChiChi’s face as her eyes glistened with tears. “Oh, Goku. You’ll do that for me? You’re breaking your word to save me.”

“Ah, ChiChi,” Goku wiped away her tears. “Ya don’t need to cry over that. I’m breaking a promise for a promise. If an evil me comes after you, use the Taiyoken and teleport to get away. Go to Gohan, Piccolo or Vegeta. You’ll be safe with them.”

“I will,” ChiChi sealed her promise with a kiss. Goku had a great plan. It was a strange one but ChiChi thought it could work.

* * *

Three months later

“It’ll be a great vacation, Gohan. One week.” Goku clasped his hands together in prayer. “I’m only asking for one week; not the entire six weeks.”

That was true but Gohan knew his Dad and he’ll talk him into more than one week. “I know that Dad, but Videl and I have vacation plans with Pan. We’re gonna spend a couple of weeks at that resort in South City.”

“I ain’t trying to get between that. You said summer break is six weeks. That resort thing is two weeks.” Goku raised a finger at Gohan. “I’m asking for one week.”

Which Gohan knew will take up the remaining weeks of his vacation. “You told me you and Vegeta had to do housework for Whis before he trained you. Won’t he make me do the same thing? You and Vegeta cleaned for weeks before he trained you.”

“You got trained by the Old Kai. You won’t be cleaning for a week and it’ll be a great opportunity to train with Whis. You did say you were a little curious.”

Gohan knew that would come back to haunt him. Gohan _was_ a little curious but he didn’t have the time to train with someone like Whis. His father put his arm around him and squeezed. “It’ll be fun for us to train together again. Just like it was fun to train with Mom.”

Mom! Now there’s an idea! “Have you told Mom about this?” Gohan knew his mother relaxed on training and let him make his own choices but he had a feeling she didn’t know about this and if he told his mother he felt pressured by his Dad to go train with him and Whis….. “I don’t think Mom would want me to do this.”

“We can keep this a secret between us,” Goku offered. “One week.” Goku clasped his hands together. “Think about it. Please?”

ChiChi suddenly materialized before Goku, startling Goku and Gohan. “Mom!” Gohan had a hand over his racing heart. He was not used to his mother doing this yet.

As father and son stared at ChiChi, she eyed her husband suspiciously. “I knew I’d find you here.”

Goku stepped back nervous. “Can’t a father see his son?”

ChiChi slowly stepped to him. “He can but when you talked about training with Whis again and not teaming up with Vegeta, I became suspicious. I knew what you were up to when I told you about Gohan’s summer break and when my back was turned, you were gone!”

“Dad,” Gohan groaned. He was in for it now. “You didn’t.”

“Just for some father/son bonding,” Goku kept stepping back. “It’s only for a week. It’s a perfect opportunity to get some training done together. I trained with Goten. I trained with you. Why not go back and train with Gohan again?”

“It’s more than a week and you know it,” ChiChi growled. “Goku, when I get my hands on you…..”

Goku jumped in the air and flew off. ChiChi chased him. Gohan stayed on the ground of his vast yard watching his Mom chase his Dad in circles. “Well, Dad, maybe you shouldn’t have taught Mom those techniques.”

Watching a little more closely, Gohan saw his Dad smiling, laughing as he blocked a kick from ChiChi. She didn’t look upset either as she threw a punch at him. Dad caught her hand; they stared at each other before flying off together with their hands linked. “Then again, maybe you should’ve done this years ago.”


End file.
